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33 pupils crammed into 14-seater bus

TRANSPORT authorities have condemned a taxi driver who was caught driving a minibus overloaded with 33 schoolchildren.

TRANSPORT authorities have condemned a taxi driver who was caught driving a minibus overloaded with 33 schoolchildren.

The man was arrested yesterday morning on the R617 at Underberg by special operations unit members for overloading the children in a Toyota Quantum minibus, which is meant to carry 14 passengers only.

The driver, who is now in police custody, could face charges of overloading and negligence.

"Restrictions on how many people you carry on the taxi are there for a reason. People are not a sack of potatoes that you overload until there is no space," said angry transport MEC Willies Mchunu.

He called on taxi drivers to put the lives of passengers first. He said while the main reason for overloading was to make more money, they should avoid putting the lives of passengers at risk. The taxi driver will appear in court soon.

Last month, another Kwazulu-Natal minibus taxi driver was arrested after he was caught driving an overloaded vehicle while under the influence of liquor.

He had crammed 49 schoolchildren into the taxi, along with the conductor.

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